


Heart Made of Diamonds

by the_forgotten_ghost



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Humour, Child Neglect, F/M, Gen, Origin Story, Please Don't Kill Me, Work In Progress, but oh well, i gotta write when i feel the urge, i should be sleeping right now, i suck at summaries, love and friendship - Freeform, tags be added as the story continues, tags made my brain twitch, there will be lots of feels, this is my first fic here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-24
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-02-10 06:17:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2014257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_forgotten_ghost/pseuds/the_forgotten_ghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't her first time when she saw how her life flashed before her eyes, crashing every repressed emotion, every single long forgotten memory back to her like a strong tidal wave.</p><p>She was fifteen when she experienced it the first time. She had felt so scared when she was staring at the terrifying object in front of her, that she honestly felt like she was dying right there and then.</p><p>A year later, when she was sixteen, it was a 9mm. gun barrel aimed straight onto her face that made her see the short film of her past life again.</p><p>She had cheated death so many times after her teenage years, that when she was face to face with yet another life threatening situation, she merely huffed, slightly irritated, when the film started to roll before her eyes again:</p><p> </p><p>  <i>Blink, and you'll lose me; a story of a thief extraordinaire; told with utmost honesty; the memoirs of the one and only</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>Fade</i></p><p> </p><p><i>”I really should write that book someday.”</i> thought the woman when she was staring at the weird alien gun which was pointed straight at her heart, in a New York alley when the world seemed to be under an alien attack.</p><p>Just your typical Tuesday in NY city.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Congratulations, it's a girl!

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story that I send here, so I ask you to spare my life even if this chapter sounds absolute garbage to you.  
> Thank you.

It was 24th of November, 1983, when a little baby girl was born.

But although it was the Thanksgiving Day of that year, her parents weren't going to thank that they got a baby girl instead of a baby boy to be their firstborn child.

To put it mildly, her parents were highly disappointed about the gender of their newborn baby as soon as the doctor had announced it to them while holding the kicking, screaming, goo-covered baby on her arms and smiling widely to the new parents from behind the surgical mask. Both her father and mother came from that kind of families where the future of the family laid (heavily) upon the shoulders of the firstborn son, not a daughter.

Her father was Jonathan Christopher Bancroft, the wealthy, healthy and filthy rich (firstborn, of course) son of the banking industry's biggest mogul, Alexander Harold Bancroft who was married to Bernadette Cecilia Royston-Bancroft.

Her mother was Olivia Gretchen Hamilton-Bancroft, the beautiful, sophisticated (and also, filthy rich) eldest daughter of the media mogul Richard K. Hamilton and Dorothy Wilhelmina Hamilton.

All-in-all, she had born into a family that believed everyone with less money and power than them, was simply not worth knowing for, and thus they were categorized as ´peasants´ and ´beggars´, and to make matters worse, her life was gradually slipping towards that category as she grew older and started to question her family's lifestyle.

 

And thus begin the story of Emily Gwendolyn Bancroft, the girl who became invisible against her will, and whose heart was destined to become as hard as the diamonds of her mothers' necklaces.


	2. What a happy family

Emily became accustomed to loneliness quite early in her life. Her mother held her in her arms only as much as it was necessary and not a moment longer. And what came to her father, well, he was even more distant character to her than her mother was, and he was more often being seen adoring a bottle of something shiny than stepping his foot into Emily's nursery. It was like the nursery was somehow a cage to her parents and not a place where they should enjoy to be in the first place.

But what was the strangest thing to Emily, when she became more aware of her surroundings, was that every time when someone was visiting the ´happy´ family, her parents set up a grand show about how much they adored and loved their daughter, but poor Emily didn't knew that they were only acting and basked in their attention like it was the happiest day in her life to hear how her mother made funny noises and her father tickled her tiny toes and made weird faces. And every time when the visitor left, the atmosphere changed drastically and her parents became distant and cold towards her and it confused and saddened the little girl greatly.

And so, later on, when she had learned to walk and talk a little, she started to anticipate the rare days when someone was coming to visit them all, because, after all, her parents were kind towards her and talked to her with softer tones then than most of the times. But she also knew by experience that their good mood lasted only as long as the visitor stayed with them, and that was okay for her, for now. At least she felt bit more loved by that way.

 

The Hamilton-Bancroft family was picture-perfect to the outside, all smiles and laughs and love and happiness and everyone bought it as it was.

 

They were selling a mirage and everyone was buying it.


	3. Expectations

A man and a woman sat on leather seats in front of a white haired, older-looking woman, both of them feeling anxious as the woman read through a set of papers, but finally, she turned her attention towards the couple, a sad look over her face as she started to speak:  
”As you two undoubtedly know, we have done all the appropriate tests there is to be done, and the results have come back earlier this week.”

”And?” the couple asked simultaneously and the older woman sighed and crossed her fingers on the desk in front of her before answering:  
”I am sorry to say this, but all of them came back negative, meaning that you two won't be able to conceive a second child. I am very sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Bancroft, I really am.”

The couple looked devastated and disappointed and the woman continued:  
”I know these news are hard to accept, but you are luckier than most of the couples I have consulted, because you two have managed to conceive successfully one time, and given the fact that it shouldn't been possible for the start for you two to reproduce, this child is a gift and a miracle.”

The meeting with the doctor was then wrapped up quickly and the couple left the building with sour looks over their faces. They were over and done with the doctors by now and they certainly weren't going to consult a fourth doctor after this one. No need to waste money and time for something they have already heard three times before.

* * *

Emily was six years old when her parents were told that there was no way they could get a second child and that to even have Emily in a first place was a great miracle, and so, after hearing the same speech over and over again, they gave up and bitterly accepted the fact that Emily was going to be their only child.

Thus, Emily's parents finally begin to notify her, but not in the good way, as they wanted their little girl become just like themselves were, and so they started to teach her all the social norms of their kind and expected her to comply without much resistance whatsoever.

But Emily wasn't that easy to brainwash, even if she was only a six years old little girl, as she had seen how her parent's treated people with less money than themselves and she didn't want to become like that. She was a clever girl and she knew that people were only nice to you if you were nice to them and she always smiled and thanked their household servants when her parent's weren't looking, as she didn't want them to get fired because of her, she liked them too much for that to happen.

So, as much as Emily's parent's tried to forge her into their mold, she resisted with great subtlety and secretly stayed kind and pure at heart.


	4. Waiting for a better day

It was a early Tuesday morning and the room was filled with tranquility and quiet sounds of calm breathing with occasional soft rustle of bed sheets, when the fifteen year old girl rolled over to sleep on her other side for a change. The clock on the otherwise poster-covered wall ticked quietly forward, pointers inevitably nearing the hour when the teenager needed to wake up and crank herself up from the bed – not necessarily always in that specific order – to start yet another stressful day at the school.

But for now, the girl was in that blissful state of sleep, when her mind was filled with dreams which made a small smile form over her face and made her to sigh contentedly while hugging one of her pillows closer to her body.

Although it was peaceful and calm at this hour in Emily's bedroom, the same couldn't have said of the weather outside the sturdy walls and large windows, as a cold March wind was carrying equally cold rain down from the heavy, gloomy, steel-grey clouds above the city. Yeah, people don't call Chicago as the windy city for nothing.

And just as Emily's dream was about to turn into a much more pleasant one, the clock on the wall ticked to seven o'clock at the same time as the combined digital alarm clock/radio on her nightstand blared into life, her favourite radio station blasting out the all-too-energetic-for-this-time-of-day Wannabe-song from Spice Girls that made her to bolt upwards on her bed and slam her palm over the damned thing repeatedly until the device went silent again. Emily blinked furiously while trying to catch her breath as she had been pulled away from her dreamworld all too violently for her liking. Sighing heavily, she flopped down onto her back against the haphazardly tossed pillows and after heaving longer sigh this time, she proceeded to rub her face with both of her hands. But finally, after five minutes of recovering from the shock of waking up to the song she despised, Emily wiggled herself from under the covers and flopped not-so-graciously down onto the bedside carpet. Letting out a tired groan, she proceeded to wobble towards her bathroom, where she happened to glance her image through the mirrored cabin above the sink and heave out yet another sigh as her wavy, mid-back long hazel hair was all messed up to the extreme, creating an almost-halo around her head. Shaking her head and trying to tame her hair by finger-combing the biggest tangles off, she conducted her morning routine in the bathroom; first using the toilet and the sink, then washing her face with generous amount of Clearasil and after that, it was time to see if she could tame her hair without vocalizing the long list of profanities she knew more than once this time.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was more like five minutes later, Emily deemed victory over her hair and was satisfied with the results, as her wild mane was now tamed into a ponytail, leaving only the few shorter strands of her bangs to shield her silvery eyes just like she preferred. Like every teenager ever, Emily often felt nervous and insecure about how she looked like, and thus had become quieter over the years, making her as a easy target to the bullies of the school she attend. It all had started several years ago, when one of her classmates had heard that her family was insanely rich and thus tried to leech her way into Emily's life, but Emily saw straight through the girl and her intentions and told her that she didn't want the girl to be her friend if all she thought and saw about Emily was that she could, and should, buy her the whole world and a part of the Moon. The girl, Sandra, didn't take Emily's words too nicely, as she soon started to spread rumors that Emily was a rich snob who didn't want to socialize with the ´normal kids´ and it didn't took long when it escalated quickly from there and ultimately left Emily all by herself. She had been more outgoing when she was younger, but now she was more doubtful and cautious around other people and she only shed her guard when she was in her room doing her homework and listening music through headphones.

Now, it was twenty past seven and Emily walked back to her bedroom in order to clothe herself for the exhausting day of school. She was happy that her high school didn't order its students to wear uniforms, thus she could wear her favourite pair of faded blue, comfortably fitting jeans and the older-than-the-Earth-itself Aerosmith tee-shirt under a black hooded sweater. After she put on some clean socks, Emily shoved her feet into her trusty black, heavenly cushioned, sound-muffled sneakers which she absolutely loved to wear. She wasn't one to wear high heels if it wasn't absolutely necessary, as she deemed them being impractical and a major pain in the arse.

As Emily walked over to the big window at the other side of her bedroom, she stopped and pulled the long yellow curtains to the sides and frowned when she noticed the oh-so-lovely weather raging outside.  
”Fantastic.” Emily muttered under her breath and turned away from the window to grab her dark blue late winter jacket with her from the closet before she headed to her closed bedroom door. She made a quick pit stop to pick up her black back bag with dark blue and purple accents before exiting her room and making a quick beeline through the hallway to the stairs and making a turn to her left, she finally arrived to the doorway of their spacious kitchen area.

And as soon as she stepped into the room, she took a deep breath and found herself smiling despite the otherwise horrid morning. Freshly baked blueberry muffins sat in a plate on the kitchen island, a glass full of milk was placed next to it and a mountain of buttered toasts on a plate was placed in front of the bar stool, where Emily liked to wolf down her breakfasts and every other meal when her parents didn't feel the need to pretend to be a happy family and eat their family meals in the dining room. The person who had prepared the breakfast for her, was turned towards the other counter and was currently placing a couple of sandwiches into a brown paper bag.

”Morning, Marcel.” Emily greeted the raven haired, thirty-something year old man with her quiet style as she sat down to the stool and dropped the back bag and her jacket next to her onto another stool. The said man turned around and gave her a wide smile, like he had done every day for almost ten years for now.

”Bonjour, ma princesse.” Marcel greeted her and Emily rolled her eyes, but grinned for his antics around her glass of milk nonetheless.

”I'm still not a princess. And no, there is still no knight in shining armor who would take me away from here.” Emily said and started to munch the still warm toast while Marcel merely shrugged and shoved an apple into the bag too.

”Well, maybe not, but a girl can always dream, right?” he said and picked a muffin from the plate to be placed into the bag too. Emily nodded a little and then asked:  
”Speaking of which, has Jacques answered you yet?”

Marcel's ears turned a nice shade of pink and he needed to clear his throat before answering:  
”I can only tell you that I have, indeed, received a letter from France, but its contents shall stay untold for a youngster like you for the time being, princess.”

Emily huffed out a laugh and munched down the last of her toast, reaching then to grab a muffin from the plate.  
”I am only happy for you, Marcel, for finally finding your knight in shining armor.” she said after gulping down some milk before starting to destroy the delicious muffin in front of her. Marcel smiled from ear to ear and placed her lunch bag next to her right elbow before crossing his arms against his chest and leaning his back against the counter.

”Thank you, princess. I'm sure you will find your own knight someday too.” Marcel responded and Emily shrugged, finishing the muffin in record time.

”Or, if I can't find anyone, I may as well become a badass knight myself.” she then said and Marcel nodded:  
”I'm sure you would be a fantastic knight, Emily.”

Letting out a silent sigh, Emily downed the rest of her milk and grabbed the paper bag in her hand.  
”Yea, if only...” she muttered and opened her back bag in order to shove the lunch bag inside.

”Well, wish me luck to the math test today, Marcel, I may not survive through it otherwise.” Emily spoke as she pulled her jacket over her and then slipped down from the stool to heave the back bag onto her back.

”Good luck behind the enemy lines, ma princesse.” Marcel said with almost serious face which made Emily smile fondly to him.

And after a quick hug from her favourite chef in the whole wide world, she was ready to open the front door and ran all the way down to the street and into the bus stop, where she got to wait five minutes before the school bus came into her view behind the corner. She heaved a long sigh as the bus stopped, opened its doors and let the teenager step inside from the heavy downpour and wind.  
”Morning.” Emily greeted quietly the driver before turning to face the other passengers and the oncoming verbal taunting.  
”The Snobster has entered the bus!” someone yelled from the back of the bus and instantly the whole vehicle burst into a maniacal laughter. Emily sighed, lowered her head and started to seek a seat for herself.  
 _”Here we go again...”_ she thought as the driver swerved the bus back to the lane and towards the nightmare she called as high school. Thank God the Easter was coming soon and the students got a week long break from schoolwork. Daytona Beach was now less than a month away, and Emily couldn't wait to get there and just relax for the whole week, no worries, no bullies, no math, but a lots and lots of sun and sand and fun.


	5. The beginning of an amazing week

As much as Emily liked to spend some quality time relaxing in a vacation far away from her daily worries, she absolutely dreaded the places where she needed to go in order to travel to her sacred oasis of calmness and peace.

Airports.

Large, international airports; where your focus scatters into the thin air the instant you step inside of one; where thousands of peoples were constantly milling around; where loud announcements rang through the speakers all around you, and where it was so easy to get lost of the main group because your attention was fixed on watching how one old, white-haired woman with a walking stick was making her way through a group of youngsters, parting the said group like Moses parted the Red Sea, and – oh god that was one funny image, gotta tell about it to Marcel – Marcel, did you just see that – Marcel? – oh lord, where is he – where's Marcel? – he was here just a second ago – oh lord, oh lord, where are you, I can't breathe –

Emily darted her eyes across the sea of people that was surrounding her, her breathing becoming more panicked by each passing second as she couldn't pinpoint the black haired, tall chef from the crowd of strangers. She nervously adjusted the straps of her black back bag against her shoulders, her panic starting to spread and making her feel like she had become invisible in the eyes of other people, and what was more horrendous, in the eyes of her only true friend she had ever had.

”God damn it, this crowd is driving me nuts and I'm not a freaking squirrel!”

Emily spun around with the speed of light and saw that there he was; the tall, black haired man, who wore a ridiculous white turtleneck shirt topped with a blue Hawaiian shirt and brown khakis with old hiking shoes ( _”I always thought that French people had a built-in fashion sense?” Emily had wondered when she was twelve and had seen for the first time ever the outfit Marcel decided to wear at the airport, and Marcel had responded with an ear-to-ear smile ”Aa, but you now forget that I am also a Canadian, princesse, so my father's genes tend to take over my mother's genes every once in a while, and that's the main reason they left me looking like this for now; fabulous as heck.”. Emily later realized that Marcel had sported his outfit only to make her forgot her fear against large crowds and vast areas, and it made Emily smile and appreciate his efforts with gratitude. No-one had ever done anything so nice just to make her smile and feel better._ ), and who weaved his way through a group of Chinese tourists while towing two black trolleys behind him, one for Emily and one for himself.

Emily let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Marcel, and she couldn't help but smile when the whole group of Chinese people started to bring out cameras at the sight of the ridiculously dressed man and then proceeded to snap pictures (evidence) of him when he stopped to stand in front of his favourite teenager.

”Thank god I found you, Emily, I feared I lost you here – there was this huge group of college students of sort that wedged their way between us – and for a moment, I actually planned on starting a revolution here in order to find you, princesse.”  
Marcel spoke, let go of the trolleys and brought the teenager into a warm embrace and Emily hugged him back with relief.

”I thought you forgot me here.” Emily mumbled against Marcel's bright blue shirt, and he sighed and patted her head soothingly.  
”You know I could never do something like that to you, Emily, being it intentional or not, as I am not your mother, princesse. And I promise that if you ever get lost, I **will** start a revolution and search you for the rest of my life until I find you again.” Marcel spoke so that only Emily could hear him and she believed his every word without a doubt.

”And I promise that I won't ever get lost, but if I do, I will do my everything to meet you halfway.” Emily said, taking a step back from the embrace, and then looking up and down the taller man, cracked a small smile and added:  
”But you absolutely have to promise me that you dress the search party in that same fashionable outfit that you happen to wear now.”

Marcel literally beamed with joy and he nodded, placed his hand on his chest and vowed:  
”I, Marcel Francois René Favreau, hereby swear to clothe personally each and every person who so happens to join a revolution I have started, in order to search, rescue and bring back a certain princess whose existence means everything to me.”

Emily shook her head and snickered for his silliness, and her distress was soon forgot as her favourite chef hugged her again before they started to hunt down the right check-in desk in order to begin their much needed and waited Easter vacation.

 

* * * * * *

Six and a half an hour later, a very relieved-looking young girl sporting only a slightly disheveled hazel ponytail stepped outside to the canopy of the international airport of Daytona Beach, Florida. She took a deep, calming inhale of air as she adjusted the straps of her black back bag better against her shoulders. After that, she grabbed the handle of her trolley in her left hand while lowering her sunglasses from the top of her head and onto her face with her other hand.

”Aww yesss, finally.” Emily sighed exhausted and turned her head to look at her right where she saw her companion nodding at her words, feeling equally exhausted and relieved to be outside of the heavily crowded building.

”Good Lord, that was one wild flight! And I have never, ever, experienced a crowd that big in my entire life!” Marcel said and sighed heavily, and then started to almost crawl his way towards the taxi line in front of the canopy while Emily followed him closely behind.

”We need a vacation after this vacation is over and done, princesse.” Marcel said to Emily as he packed their belongings into the trunk of a free taxi, their driver helping him with the task, and Emily heartily agreed:  
”I wouldn't argue at all if I needed to stay away from school for an additional week. Or maybe two.”

They continued their complaining regarding the start of their vacation, and the taxi driver ( _”Nice to meet you two, my name's Paul!”_ ) was soon included to their conversation about how the airports are too crowded at this time of the year and how the airplane food tastes like cardboard. Then they were told of how one of Paul's customers earlier of the week was half drunk off his ass, and probably equally as crazy too, and how he was barely able to tell Paul the destination he wanted to go ( _”Said his name was Tony, weird guy really, he refused to take back the change I was offering him when he payed his ride, said he didn't liked to be handed things, so I was like, eh, you sure buddy? Well, what can I say, I got a tip of a lifetime that day!”_ ).

Soon after Paul's incredible story, they arrived at their destination and Paul helped them unload their trolleys and bags from the trunk and wished them both a very relaxing holiday after Marcel had payed their trip and had given a generous tip for the entertaining taxi driver.

Marcel walked to stand next to Emily, who stood at the driveway of the Bungalow and who was eyeing the said building quietly with her arms folded loosely against her chest.  
”A penny for your thoughts, princesse.” Marcel said, mirroring Emily's posture, sensing that something was troubling the teenager.

Emily let out a deep sigh and kept her gaze locked onto the wooden door of the summerhouse.  
”I just thought how the two of us are here together, again. And how mom and dad went to Aspen instead of coming here with you and me for fourth year in a row.” Emily spoke and Marcel hummed and wrapped his arm around Emily's shoulder and hugged her sideways.

”It is not your fault that your parents are idiots who can't seem to realize they have the most amazing daughter in the whole world, Emily. And I can honestly tell you that there are couples out there who would be more than happy to have a girl like you, princesse, and who would never think of treating their child the same way your parents are currently treating you.” Marcel talked and, in his mind, cursed Emily's parents for treating their daughter like she meant absolutely nothing to them and was more like something to be send as far away as possible from their oh-so fabulous lives.

Emily rested her head against Marcel's shoulder before saying quietly:  
”I don't know what I would do without you by my side, Marcel, you are the only family I have ever truly had.”

Marcel leaned his head against Emily's head and squeezed her shoulder before replying:  
”And you will always be the daughter I have wished I would have someday.”

The two of them remained like that for half a minute more, until they both sighed and separated, the chef turning to look at the teenager with a questioning look over his features:  
”I believe this evening calls for Jack and Rose, accompanied with massive amounts of takeaway, ice cream and tissues, eh?”

Emily chuckled but nodded nonetheless:  
”You always know how to make me cheer up, don't you, mister ´I-already-used-three-tissues-before-the-movie-even-started-rolling´?”

Marcel grinned at her and gripped both trolleys into his hold before starting to walk towards the bungalow, saying:  
”Oh well, what can I say? The story is so full of clichés that they make me cry almost involuntarily.”

Emily laughed and hefted her back bag onto her back and followed him to the porch.  
”You can tell people that, Marcel, but I know the truth in that case.” she said and stepped inside the summerhouse when Marcel had unlocked the door and held it open for her.

Their moods changed into more cheerful ones as the evening proceeded, the pizza and the ice cream disappeared at the same speed as the movie rolled, and one or two hysterical laughing fits and twelve tissue papers later, the duo decided to call it a night, and after bidding good night to each others, they went to their own rooms to sleep after a long, stressful day. They had a whole week ahead of them to relax and just enjoy the sunny weather before they would have to go back to the windy city of Chicago.

 

But, as it often happens after a period of sunny days and warm weather, a strong wind will pick up and roll in a brewing mass of stormy clouds, and if you're not careful enough, the storm might rough you up and blow you far away from your family and friends. And earning a pair of sparkling red heels might be harder and take longer than you would have expected, and if you do find the ticket back to your home, the family you will return to might not be the same one as you left behind.


	6. We had so much fun (under the hot southern sun)

”Morning, Marcel.” Emily greeted sleepily as she appeared to the kitchen doorway while still wearing her pajama shorts and an old Aerosmith tee-shirt, different from the one she wore at school, and looking like she had just rolled off the bed and onto the floor and **then** actually woken up, if the mob of hazel hair was any indication in that case. Marcel took a one glance of the teenager while flipping a pancake and then let out a chuckle:  
”Bonjour, princesse. I see you have adapted to the Florida-mode quite quickly, this must be your new record, Emily.”

Emily blinked a couple of times in order to at least **look** more awake as she made her way towards the small kitchen island from the doorway.  
”You are one to talk, Marcel, I can clearly see that you are wearing a Hawaiian shirt under that apron.” Emily said and tried her best to finger-comb her hair while taking her seat behind the table.

Marcel smiled and stacked pancakes onto two separate plates before switching off the stove. Emily rubbed her bleary eyes with both of her hands and let out a tired sigh before dropping them down onto her lap, and then she took another look of the chef with narrowed eyes.  
”Is that... is that a new shirt, Marcel? I mean, seriously? How many of those shirts do you own honestly?” she asked as Marcel turned around, holding the plates in each hand and then lowering them both onto the table before replying:  
”This, indeed, **is** a new shirt, and I'm very glad you noticed, princesse. And for the record, I believe I have seven of these shirts, this one included to the count.”

Emily huffed out a laugh but then suddenly winced and rubbed her eyes and temples with her hands. Marcel looked a little worried as he reached to grab a coffeepot from the maker, and he asked while pouring the black nectar into two cups:  
”Is everything alright, princesse?”

Emily sighed again and reached for a jar of strawberry jam from where Marcel had placed it earlier that morning.  
”Just a minor headache, nothing to worry about too much. Yesterday was a hectic day and this is probably the result of it.” she said and scooped a spoonful of jam onto her stack of pancakes as Marcel brought the coffee to the table.

”Let's hope it is only that and not something serious, Emily.” he said and came to sit next to the teenager. Emily nodded and added some sugar and milk into her coffee before stirring it with her left hand as the other one was occupied on stabbing the pancakes with a fork.  
”Naw, this is nothing to be worried about, I'm pretty sure every teenager gets headaches every once in a while anyway, something to do with growing up I'd figure.” Emily said and shoved a piece of pancake into her mouth.  
”Yea, you are probably right about that.” Marcel said, nodding, before taking a sip of his coffee.

After they had finished with the breakfast and Emily's headache had subsided, they discussed about what they wanted to do that day. They had developed a tradition while they were to spend a vacation in Florida, including the previous evening with Titanic and takeaway, followed by tanning yourself on the beach and swimming in the sea, checking out the various museums and few of the historical places, spending money at the shops the way only the two of them were capable of and just generally shake off the stress with various pampering activities.

It didn't take long when they had wrapped up their plan and packed two bags with them as they decided to head to the beach first. Marcel had rented a car for them to use at that morning before he started to prepare the breakfast, and the small, white sedan was awaiting for them at the Bungalow's driveway.  
”Ready to burn a tan onto your skin, princesse?” Marcel asked as they placed the bags onto the trunk.  
”Always, Marcel, always.” Emily responded with a smile as she flopped to the front seat after the chef had closed the door to the trunk and then buckled her seat belt on.  
”Very well then.” Marcel said and buckled on his seat belt too after sitting down onto the drivers seat and starting the car.

* * * * *

After they had arrived to the beach, parked the car, grabbed the bags and locked up the rented vehicle, the duo proceeded to spend the late morning and the whole afternoon tanning up themselves, taking occasional spurts into the water to cool off a little. They had hotdogs and ice cream while they stayed at the beach, but they both decided to pack their bags again and head out from the shore in order to eat proper dinner at one of the nearby restaurants.

When they arrived back to their car, it was Emily who spotted a colourful flyer shoved under one of the wipers of the car. She plucked the paper off and hummed thoughtfully.  
”Don't tell me it's a parking ticket of some sort, this is a legal spot, right?” Marcel asked and frowned while trying to check that their parking lot was indeed, legal. Emily shook her head and turned the paper around to show it to Marcel too:  
”No, this is just an advertisement, says there is a carnival few miles to the south from here.”

Marcel read through the paper too and nodded slightly as Emily opened the trunk with her free hand.  
”A carnival, eh? Well then, I guess we have no other choice than to check it out, or what do you say, princesse?” Marcel said and grinned at the look of Emily's face when she smiled so wide it made dimples form on her cheeks, and he knew they were an undoubted sign that she was feeling truly happy.

”Seriously? You really needed to ask? Of course I wanna go there, I mean, it's not everyday when you get to roam between all kinds of stalls and maybe even see a bearded lady or some fierce lions and tigers.” Emily spoke enthusiastically and waited as Marcel placed their bags onto the trunk before she closed the heavy door. Marcel chuckled as they climbed into the car and then said:  
”Then it's settled; we go to the carnival tomorrow and spend the day there, but for now, let's go eat something else than hotdogs and ice cream, eh?”  
”You are a mind reader, Marcel.” Emily said with a laugh and couldn't wait for tomorrow to roll in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, I have an idea of how I'm gonna continue this story, but I am not sure should I go along with that story arc because there will most likely be a tremendous amount of clichés there, but it sounds relatively good in my head so, yeah, let's see where my mind will take this story, eh?
> 
> Also, there might be someone who makes an appearance in the following chapter and I apologize beforehand if this character is too ooc for your liking, I haven't had the chance to read these comics at all, which is a really big shame because I have heard they are (cough) marvelous.
> 
> Also, I apologize if there is misspellings in there, English is not my forte, heck, sometimes my own mother language is hard to spell and speak! :|


	7. Unforgettable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clishés, clishés everywhere!
> 
> Anyway, this was one heck of a hard chapter to squeeze out, but I hope this is at least somewhat enjoyable to read. My eyes are practically burning now that I have tried to erase any major errors out of this chapter these past uh, _three days_? ughh... so feel free to comment if you so happen to spot an error. Seriously, I will appreciate it.
> 
> Thanksies!

He swore he hadn't meant to follow the girl around the whole carnival area, not when he actually had real work to do, but he just knew he would be damned if he couldn't have taken a second look of her amazing smile, which, by the way, was undoubtedly the most beautiful smile he had ever had a chance to see in his entire life, at least, if you asked Clint's opinion in that case.

And then he had noticed her eyes, and eyes were very important to Clint, because he more often than not studied them in order to get a hold of someone's true intentions and feelings towards himself. But, unfortunately for Clint, other people didn't seem to like it when someone stared at them straight into eye, and, well, Clint **was** a bit self-conscious and had come to a conclusion that it was because it was **he** who did the staring, and he had heard several times that he had an intimidating resting-face and he should stop staring at people like the way he so often did. Also, Barney usually punched him whenever he found out that Clint wasn't doing his job and was instead spying on people who came to visit the carnival, and that was one of the reasons Clint was hiding from him and the others for now.

But anyway, that girl's eyes! They sparkled like stars in the sky whenever she smiled, and considering Clint had only seen them from afar, he was still able to tell that their colour shifted into a perfect shade of silver every time when the light touched her irises in a correct (perfect) angle.

And if Clint hadn't fallen head over heels with the nameless, hazel-haired, sparkly-eyed, beautifully smiling girl yet, he absolutely and without a doubt stumbled over and fell hard when he had faintly heard her laughing at something her dad had just said to her. And Clint would become immensely happy if he could hear that sweet sound again and preferably a bit more closer proximity, because now he noticed he couldn't hear her laughter and overall voice properly from where he had located himself (literally stuffed himself into), his hiding/watching spot being close to the tent of the fortune telling lady (simply known as Esther among the other carnies). Clint's hearing hasn't been quite the same ever since he was as tall as a standpipe and his dad had played with him and Barney a little too roughly, resulting Clint to stumble backwards and hit his head onto the hard wood of their living room floor. But he **was** still able to hear **something** , if not as sharply as everyone else did, and he had already become a master of lip-reading before he even turned sixteen two months ago.

When Clint jolted back to the present time from his short trip to the memory lane, he noticed how the girl and her dad had wandered further away from his location, and now he was unsure whether or not to follow them further.  
 _”Good job Barton, good job!”_ Clint chastised himself in his mind as he came to realize that he needed to step into the small crowd of people milling around the main lane if he wanted to get any closer to the pair. And that was exactly what he did only a moment later.

And thus, Clint began to wander through the carnival area while trying to look as nonchalant as possible, the theme song from a certain action movie he and Barney had managed to see once when they had sneaked their way into a local movie theater in one of the smaller towns they visited some time ago, playing in his mind. As he was closing the distance between the girl and her dad, Clint's nose suddenly picked the mixed scent of hotdogs, fries and popcorn wafting in the air and his stomach let out a vicious growl. Clint chewed on his lower lip and slowed his pace, thinking that maybe, for once, he could afford to buy a hotdog or a hamburger and fries, although he did try to save his earnings the best he could so that he could one day sign off from the traveling carnival and start a life on his own, or, in his case, to start a new life together with his brother Barney. Besides, Clint really wanted to eat something other than the cup of plain porridge and a piece of not-so-fresh bread he got every morning before he had to hurry to aid his brother or the other carnival workers in their daily duties, not to mention the **very** questionable plateful of the stew that one of the animal trainers coming from Eastern Europe seemed to make and serve every day. Clint hadn't asked what meat the bulky man had used when making the stew, and after tasting the food for the very first time, he had came to a conclusion that he no longer didn't even **wanted** to know.

”So, which one do you want to try, hotdogs and fries or hamburgers and fries?”

Clint's eyes snapped to the girl ahead of him the instant when he had heard her speaking to the tall man next to her. Her dad seemed to contemplate her question as he tapped his chin lightly with his right hand fingers, the other arm resting against his chest and holding his right elbow loosely.

”Hmm, it's a though choice to make, princesse, so what do you say if I propose that we try them both, eh?”

Clint heard the man answer after few heartbeats, and the girl grinned and pulled a small black wallet out from the front pocket of her jeans while exclaiming happily:  
”I'd say that I am not surprised and that it's a fantastic idea, Marcel!”

She then turned her attention to address the vendor of the food stall, and she seemed to be placing the order for the both of them, or so Clint observed silently from his place where he had slowly made his way. Then he began to wonder how the teenaged girl had spoken to the man, because she had called him Marcel and by Clint's experience, how many kids called their parents as by their first name anyway? He certainly didn't (dare to) do it when his parents were still alive.

As Clint was wondering about that, his gaze traveled lower, all the way to the dirt ground, and he happened to notice, when the girl went and payed the food, that she accidentally dropped a slightly crumbled banknote from her wallet and didn't seem to be aware of it at all. The pair picked their freshly made meals from the other window few minutes later and were about to walk further away from the stall, yet still, the girl hadn't noticed the bill laying on the ground, so Clint inched his way quickly towards the stall, silently thanking the god that the front of it was currently free of customers, and he quickly crouched down and picked up the bill. And when he straightened up, he shot his eyes to the direction where the girl and her dad were walking to and thankfully saw them no more than nine feet away from himself.

Clint shook any possible dirt particle off and tried to straighten out the paper (whoa, a ten dollar bill!) before taking a nervous step towards the pair. And it was at that very moment when he suddenly realized he had never actually spoken to a girl of his age, and boy didn't that make him nervous or what?

 _”Uh-oh, what was the plan again, Barton?”_ Clint thought and to his horror, suddenly noticed how his feet had subconsciously carried him closer to the girl and her dad, who were unaware of how a dirty-blond, sixteen year old boy was currently following them around with a ten dollar bill squeezed tightly in his hand.

 _”Quick! Think what agent Hunt would do in this situation!?”_ Clint was starting to panic inside his head and before he could stop himself, he found himself talking to a pair of backs ahead of him:  
”Umm, excusemeyoudroppedsomemoneyontotheground!”

Clint's breathing halted in his throat and his eyes widened with sheer horror, when in split second he came to realize, that a; he had actually talked to a girl, and b; the girl in question turned to look at Clint with a slightly confused look on her face. And another split second later, Clint felt how the back of his neck started to heat and then he felt how the heat crept upwards and his ears were practically burning, and – oh god – what's happening with my face –

”Uh, sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you, ah, please repeat yourself?”

The girl asked with kind voice, and Clint was sure his heart missed a couple of beats and he blinked and couldn't help but think how beautiful the girl was when he was looking at her this close, and now that Clint could hear her voice more clearer, he thought it sounded even more amazing than when he had heard it from afar. Clint blinked the second time and quickly averted his gaze from the girl to the bill in his hand, remembering that people generally didn't like his staring.

”I uh, I saw you dropped some money onto the ground and you didn't seem to notice it and I thought I should return it back to you. It's um, a bit crumpled, sorry.” Clint said quickly and nervously and propped the banknote towards the girl with extended hand. She now looked as surprised as her dad did, and then said:  
”Oh, I really didn't notice anything. I tried to sort out an even sum for the vendor and it must have slipped from me then.”

”I didn't notice anything either, but lucky for us that there are still people who want to offer their help for other people.” the girl's dad said then and gave Clint a sincere thank you-smile.

”I uh, people say I have sharp eyes.” Clint blurted as he didn't know what else to say and how to cope with the situation. The girl smiled radiantly and her expression turned a bit thoughtful when she looked between Clint's outstretched hand which held the banknote and her own hands which were occupied to hold her share of the food.  
”It seems my hands are little occupied at the moment, so um, could you hold onto that until we find an empty table to lower this uh, mountain of food onto?” the girl asked, bit embarrassed of the amount of food they bought from the food stall. Clint blinked and felt very surprised as the girl trusted him to carry **her** money with him and not to bolt away with it the instant she turns her back towards him. It went totally unnoticed by the two teenagers when the tall man eyed their exchange with a certain awareness and suppressed a smile from appearing.

”I... yeah, okay.” Clint said, feeling flabbergasted and then lowered his hand closer to his side.  
”Oh! That is, if you have the time, I should have thought of that first before asking.” the girl then said with a nervous chuckle and her cheeks got a hue of pink on them, making Clint's heart leap interestingly and he said hurriedly and without a second thought:  
”Ah, no, I have time!”

The girl smiled sincerely at Clint, and then her dad happened to spot an empty table not too far from themselves and he pointed at it with his soda bottle:  
”Aa, look at that, right on time!”  
He said and then started to briskly walk towards the table, leaving the two teenager a few step behind him. He had a broad smile on his face and it was not due to the fact that he had found an empty table. The girl rolled her eyes but started to walk nonetheless, Clint following close by.

At the time when the girl lowered her meal onto the table, her dad had already marked his place from the table with his meal and then he exclaimed, sounding a little bit suspicious:  
”Oh no! I forgot to buy some water to go, I must go get it right away! You need anything from the stall, princesse?”  
The girl looked at him silently for a second, and then answered:  
”Not that I know, Marcel. I think we are good here.”  
The man nodded and hurried back to the stall, leaving both the girl and Clint looking after him with questioning looks over their faces.

The girl sighed, shrugged and sat down onto the bench, but Clint wasn't sure what he should do now, other than to give the bill back to the girl.  
”Um, right.” Clint mumbled quietly and fidgeted with the paper subconsciously. The girl noticed his nervousness and bit her lip thoughtfully.  
”You know, if you still have time, you can sit down and dine with us.” the girl said, looking at Clint shyly under her eyelashes and Clint was sure his ears were going to turn into charcoal. He caught himself staring at the girl again and he quickly averted his gaze to the food on the table instead.  
”I, uh, sure, okay. I'm just gonna go and get myself something to eat first-” Clint started, but the girl cut his sentence:  
”Or you could just, tuck in, I am pretty sure me and Marcel can't eat all of this by ourselves?”  
Clint had to blink again to regain his composure and the girl waited for his answer anxiously.  
”Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to anger your dad about eating the food you just bought.” Clint said and the girl shrugged:  
”I'm quite sure he won't notice anything, or care for that matter.”  
”But, uh, he sounded earlier that he wanted to try both dishes.” Clint said while taking a seat (very gingerly) across the girl, and realization washed over her features when she darted her eyes there where the tall man had gone a moment ago.  
”You mean he is... oh. No, Marcel's not my dad, if you meant that, although I sometimes wish he would be, but no, both my mom and dad are currently spending the Easter at Aspen while me and Marcel are here. It's a tradition of sorts.” the girl said and picked a french fry from the tray and plucked it in her mouth. Clint was confused to say at least and he was about to ask who the man was if not her dad, when the girl seemed to sense his train of thought and explained the situation for Clint:  
”Long story short, Marcel is our family's cook but he has taken it into his heart to act as my nanny and he has done exactly that ever since he was hired, but I consider him more as my best friend than a chaperone for that matter.”

Now Clint understood the situation a little bit better and he nodded his head slowly.  
”Right...” he murmured mainly to himself as his eyes roamed over the table and the food on it.  
”So, that was my story, what about you? Are you here with your family?” the girl asked and pushed the french fries over towards Clint and then proceeded to open her soda bottle. Clint bit his lower lip and absentmindedly scratched the back of his neck with his free hand while his eyes darted quickly over the area around them.  
”Umm, I uh... I came here with my brother, but I haven't seen him for a while now. I'm pretty sure he is looking for me right now.” Clint said and wasn't sure why he didn't want to tell the girl that he and his brother both had jobs at the carnival and that their parents had died in a car accident long time ago. Maybe he was too afraid to tell the truth to the girl and maybe he wanted to pretend to be a normal teenager for once.

”Oh, alright.” the girl said and smiled a little.  
”So, um, what do you want to eat? There is plenty of this oh-so healthy stuff to eat so pick freely.” she continued a second later, pointing at the different meals on the table and Clint couldn't help but grin at her unshielded sarcasm against the greasy carnival food.  
”Well then, if you insist.” he said and chose one of the two hotdog and fries-baskets to himself and the girl smiled and pulled a hamburger and fries-basket to herself. The girl hummed in response and then said:  
”So, before we start to destroy our meals, I must put my rusty manners in use and inquire my dining partner's name, at least, so that I can wish him bon appétit.”  
”Oh! Hey, I am Clint, Clint Barton.” Clint said quickly and a bit embarrassed because he hadn't realized to introduce himself before he almost sank his teeth into the freely offered food. The girl extended her right hand over the table and said with a smile on her face:  
”Nice to meet you, Clint, my name is Emily, Emily Bancroft.”

 

A few moments later, when the teenagers had engaged into a conversation regarding the latest movies and music, and the few good classics, the girl's not-dad returned with few more drinks and then there was a brief introduction between the boy and the man before they all started to consume their meals. And afterwards, when they were done eating, and when Marcel had offered to take out the trashes, Emily and Clint exchanged shy glances, and when he tried to hand the money back to her, she just shook her head, smiling, and said she wanted him to hold onto it a while longer. So, Clint folded and tucked the greenback into his pocket and swallowed nervously and then said to Emily:  
”So um, if you happen to, I dunno, come here later this week, I uh, might see you around, maybe?”  
Clint was definitely blushing by the end of his sentence, but Emily's face wasn't exactly colourless either, at least when she answered:  
”Yeah, there is so much to see here that I might need a day to check out everything. Or two, for that matter.”  
And before Clint could restrain himself, he said:  
”Great! It's a date then!”  
Emily's blush darkened the same rate as Clint's did, and Marcel's perfected ability to make an appearance at the most inconvenient time ensured that they needed to part their ways all too quickly for their liking, but when Clint had almost lost the hope of seeing Emily ever again, she turned her head and called over her shoulder:  
”Hey! It most certainly is a one!”

And with a wave of her hand and a brilliant smile, the duo disappeared into the crowd, leaving widely grinning Clint behind. And when Clint finally got himself moving again, when he finally got back to his brother and when Barney scolded him with harsh words and slapped the back of his head as a punishment of not doing his job, Clint still felt that the day was the happiest day he had had in a long, long while.


	8. You and I

”So...” Marcel started slowly when he and Emily had returned back to the Bungalow after their entertaining trip to the carnival earlier that day, and he was now preparing a pitcher of cold juice in their kitchen. Emily hummed absentmindedly while still sporting a slight smile that had seemed to stuck with her after they parted with the other teenager. Marcel hadn't said anything about the way they had eyed each others when they thought he wouldn't notice them, but he wasn't all that oblivious and he probably was the only one of them to actually know about what was going on.

”So, are you going to meet up with this Mr. Barton again?” Marcel cut straight to the point and turned his head to look at the teen over his shoulder just in time to see how her face tinted with pink hue.  
”I, uh, you think I should?” Emily asked timidly while avoiding Marcel's eyes from her usual spot behind the kitchen island. The chef sighed silently as Emily's more doubtful and shy side tried to take a hold of her again, but before it could happen, Marcel pointed out:  
”Well, he did ask you on a date with him, right? And, the way he talked with you and looked at you? He saw only **you** , Emily, and I bet that the world could have started to crumble around you two and he wouldn't have noticed a thing.”

And as Marcel was speaking, he reached out two glasses from the cabin above him while Emily's eyes were fixed onto his back, and her eyes widened at his words and a full blown smile crept its way onto her face.  
”And, from my point of view, I believe he has fallen head over heels with you, princesse.” Marcel continued and turned to face the teenager in time to see how she tried to hide her face behind her hands all the while when her upper body swayed gently over the brightly burning feeling that had conquered her heart.  
”And, I can also see that the feeling is mutual.” Marcel said with a smile and lowered the two glasses onto the table and then heard a muffled squeak of happiness coming from ahead of him:  
”I have found my knight and it feels amazing!”

 

* * * * *

When Clint woke up at the following morning, he felt a bit disoriented at first, mainly because he had seen vivid dreams regarding the day before, and when he remembered that he had, in fact, really met Emily and hadn't dreamed the whole thing, a goofy smile appeared on his face and he sighed against his pillow, feeling extremely happy. But, as it often happened when he was feeling happy, his mind started to pull up nasty doubts, and now they tried to convince him that he couldn't possible assume that the girl really liked him back and would really want to hang out with a guy like him.

Clint sighed, this time sadder, and fumbled to sit on his bed, blanket wrapped tightly around his waking self, and his many colourful pillows (two thirds of them were purple, for reasons) – which had found their way (it's a mystery!) into his trailer (shared occasionally with his brother when he wasn't drinking and gambling all of his money with the other carnies) – were surrounding and cushioning him and morphing the bed into a giant nest-like structure. The teen scrubbed his face with both hands and then he scratched his head sleepily, making his hair to stick out even more than it already did, before a shiver ran through him as he awakened a little bit more from his slumber.

”Right, mornin'...” Clint mumbled quietly and then yawned, blinked and tried to climb down from his bed while shedding the blanket off, but when he was at it, one of the corners of the fabric slipped onto the floor and his foot managed to connect with it, resulting him to almost land on his face.  
”Aww, blanket no~!” Clint wailed as he flailed his hands frantically and panicking in order to regain his balance. And, well, he certainly was awake now.

”Whoa, that was close-!?” Clint started as he had finally shed the blanket off and had dumped it onto his bed, and was now taking another step towards the holy coffeemaker he had in his tiny little kitchen, but then he felt how his right little toe hit that one and only corner there was in his entire trailer, and he yelped in pain. After few selected profanities had been muttered and a threat or two had been made against the murderous corner, Clint had finally made his way to the kitchen and was now practically inhaling the coffee grounds while he prepared his morning coffee.

”Mmm, coffee...” the teenager mumbled as he cradled the much used coffee mug in his hands after he had visited the closet-like bathroom while the black nectar was brewing. Suddenly there was a loud bang coming from the door of the trailer which Clint recognized instantly, but still he almost spilled his precious coffee because he wasn't expecting a knock from the door in a first place.

”Clint! Drag your ass out here, there's work to do!”

The loud and barking voice of Clint's older brother rang through the door and Clint sighed and answered, not nearly as loudly, but still:  
”Yeah, I'm coming! Just let me finish my coffee, Barney!”

”Fine! Don't keep me waiting for too long or else!” Barney shouted as he was walking away from the trailer, and Clint let out a long sigh and tried to blew his coffee cooler. Even if Clint couldn't hear properly, he was still able to notice the slur in Barney's all-too-loud voice, and it often meant that he would be spending the day in somewhere else other than work, preferably somewhere where there was a bed and quietness. Hangovers were a killer, and usually meant that Clint was on his own the whole day, helping others and working hard to earn money for himself.

And speaking of money, that banknote from yesterday? Clint had kept it separate from his secret stash of money, as he had sworn to himself that he would keep it safe and hidden from the rest of the world for as long as he possible could.

”Right, to the work...” Clint muttered as he finished his coffee and then put on proper clothes and his shoes before exiting from the little mobile home and to the hustle and bustle of the waking carnival. He still nurtured a faint hope of meeting up with the dreamy girl from yesterday as he walked towards the worker's queue which lead to the daily cup of porridge and stale bread.

 _”Please, you are my only light against this darkness, Em, don't forget me, please.”_ Clint thought in his mind and stopped to wait for his share of food while shoving his hands to his pockets and lowering his gaze to the ground.

 

* * * * *

It was almost noon when Clint's stomach notified him of its existence, and he deemed he had earned a short break. Besides, he was already done with feeding the animals, so he figured he could feed himself next. So, he patted away the stray hay straws that had stuck onto him when he had fed the horses, and made his way (subconsciously) towards the food stall from yesterday, but he stopped abruptly on his tracks when his eyes landed on the figure ahead of him.

A split-second later, Clint had cracked a huge smile on his face, which only turned brighter when the person turned to look behind. And Clint was almost blinded by the sheer force of joy that radiated from this person's smile and overall being.

”Y-you really came back?” Clint managed to say and Emily moved closer to him from her spot where she was standing (waiting, actually) and shrugged, but her cheeks blushed just a little bit for Clint's remark.  
”Well, yeah, I uh, just got here, Marcel dropped me on his way to the shops and a possible pampering day at one of the spas, I think.” Emily said and pushed a persistent strand of hair back behind her left ear.  
”What about Hawaii-shirts, you mentioned them yesterday?” Clint asked, feeling immensely happy, and the girl huffed out a laugh, saying:  
”God help me if he buys another one, he has so many of them already!”

And from that moment on, when the ice had been broken and the nervousness started to ease from both of them, the pair started to relax as they made their way to the food stall.  
”This time, I will pay for the food.” Clint said and earned an amused eyebrow lift from Emily:  
”Well, technically, it was **you** who asked **me** on a date, so that's pretty obvious, right?”  
To the outside, Clint's grin only got wider, but internally he was shouting rather enthusiastically:  
_”I am on a real date! With a real girl! Yes!”_  
”I did indeed...” was the only thing Clint breathed out before proceeding to place an order for the both of them, the order containing the same meals as they had yesterday, but this time they were meant only for the two of them to enjoy.

 

Approximately half an hour later, when Clint and Emily had finished eating and wrapped up their deep discussion regarding the questionable fashion-sense of one certain half-French half-Canadian chef, Clint found he no longer wanted to go back to work, and his conscious had voted to stay with Emily the whole day instead, or, as long as she liked to be around him, or, as long as she needed to return back to the parking lot where her absent chaperone would pick her up (which wasn't due until five o'clock). And what came to Clint's brother, well, he had seen Barney walking back to the trailer which belonged to the Swordsman (their mentor and Barneys drinking/gambling buddy), and he was fairly sure no-one will see a glimpse of him until evening has fallen and when he would come out with a little less aching head and burning gut. So, it was safe to say Clint wouldn't be missed that much, well, right at the moment at least.

”So, are you on a vacation here, at Florida? Or do you live here with your family?” Emily asked as they had deposited their trashes onto a nearby trashcan and were about to head back to the main lane. Clint rubbed the back of his neck, feeling immensely nervous of all the sudden, before answering:  
”No, we, uh, we are from Waverly, Iowa, and um, I wouldn't call this as a vacation, not exactly, at least not in the traditional way.”  
”Oh, cool, okay, I am from Chicago, Illinois, and we are basically neighbors, if you think about it.” Emily said and nodded to herself. Clint felt even more nervous and his mouth-to-brain connection decided to fail him at that very moment:  
”Well, actually, me and my brother were send to a children's home when our parents died when I was four, and after a couple of years, we ran away and joined this traveling carnival and we have worked here ever since.”

Clint literally froze still the instant he noticed what he had just told to the girl he liked and had only known for a day, and the said girl stared at him a bit shocked, but before Clint could say another word, she spoke up:  
”Oh... I am very sorry for your loss, Clint. I had no idea.”  
Her voice had gotten a sad undertone in it, and it made something inside Clint stir. He hadn't expected other people to comfort him if he would have told his life's story to them, he had always thought they would make fun of him and the fact that he worked at a circus/carnival and that he didn't have parents or a proper home for that matter.  
”Yeah, um, thanks.” he managed to mumble and everything felt awkward for a moment, until Emily spoke again:  
”So, uh, this is your new home now?”  
She gestured the overall carnival area with her hands and Clint nodded:  
”Yep, pretty much. And I have a trailer that I share occasionally with Barney, but that is if our mentor hasn't hooked him to play cards with their gambling group the rest of the night like he sometimes does.”

Emily nodded silently while looking around the area, and Clint felt too anxious to ask what she was thinking about right now, but he was put out of his misery fairly soon:  
”Must have been a horrible place, that place where you were send, if the two of you have needed to ran away from there.” Emily said and Clint nodded, speaking:  
”Barney says the whole system is rotten and I agree about that. I bet many of the kids from our group home have tried to escape from there. And when we finally managed to do that, we ran as far from that place as we could, and eventually found our way into this carnival. And, well, no-one asked questions at that time and instead welcomed us with open arms. And now we are like one big family, and I feel grateful for that.”

And Clint really did mean what he said, he had a family of sorts and they offered safety for the brothers, but he still felt like something was missing, yet he couldn't pinpoint what it was, he just got that kinda feeling sometimes.

”It must be nice, to have a family that cares, even if you aren't connected by blood.” Emily said and the duo started to walk, keeping the pace slow so that they could talk while they were closing the main lane. Clint looked at Emily and nodded, remembering her indicating yesterday that her parents weren't all that interested at their daughter and her doings. Clint made a noncommittal sound and silence filled the gap between them as they neared the food stall.

”So, you said you live here, like, all the time, right? So, don't you ever grew a bit... bored? I mean, you must be pretty familiar with the whole carnival-spirit by now?” Emily asked when they stepped to the lane and were surrounded by people and colours and music almost instantly. Clint grinned and shrugged, saying:  
”Well, sometimes I do feel like that, but not when someone has suggested Lola to try out new hairstyles.”  
”Lola?” Emily wondered.  
”Yea, she is the right person to go if you need a haircut and she also gives you free styling tips if you'd ask. Um, do you want to meet her, perhaps? She is a wonderful person, really.” Clint said, glancing shyly at the other teen, feeling uncertain if she wanted to meet yet another carnie.  
”Actually, that's not a bad idea at all, I will always listen if someone would have good tips of how to tame my hair into more manageable one.” Emily said and smiled at Clint and he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.  
”Great! We should go there right away, she should still have some freetime before her afternoon show starts. I bet you'll like her!” Clint said and the pair hurried towards the place where Lola's trailer was located, Clint leading the way through various shortcuts in order to get there faster and without bumping onto other people too much along the way.


	9. Of arrows and happiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I should probably be sleeping right now, but I needed to get this chapter out of my head so...
> 
> There might be mistakes but I am too tired to correct them right now anyways.
> 
> Feel free to comment!
> 
> Thanksies!

”Espere un momento, por favor!” a slightly muffled answer echoed from somewhere inside the trailer when Clint had knocked the door and then stepped down from the short stairs.

”I think she said that we should wait for a moment.” Clint said to Emily, who nodded at him and said:  
”Okay. I didn't know you know how to speak Spanish.”  
”Yea, I know few words of it, and I also know how to say ´no thank you´ in Russian, because of our animal handler speaks it, I think, anyway, so...” Clint said and shrugged.

”Cool. I know few phrases of French, thanks to Marcel, and our teachers try to hammer Spanish in our heads at school, which isn't a very efficient way, by the way, it only gives the student a headache that way.” Emily said and suddenly they both heard how footsteps neared the door, and then the door opened, revealing the lady behind the voice:  
”Ah! How nice of you to come visit me, pequeño halcón!”  
The Spanish woman exclaimed while smiling broadly at the two teenagers who stood at the bottom of the stairs, the boy giving her a wide smile of his own while the girl's expression showed great surprise at first, before it softened and a blinding smile took over her whole persona.

”I have actually grown an inch since our last talk, Lola, so I'm not that short anymore.” Clint said, grinning, and Lola let out a chuckle.  
”Good for you, halcón, but I can clearly see that your hair has also grown an inch or two since we toured through Winter Haven, and that was what, four months ago?” Lola said, raising an eyebrow, and Clint subconsciously rubbed the back of his neck.  
”Maybe... and, uh, I kind of hoped, that if you have the time to-” Clint started, but Lola interrupted before he could finish:  
”Little halcón, speak no more! I always have time for my favourite pájaro and his beautiful friends, for that matter.”  
Lola exclaimed and smiled radiantly at Emily, who smiled back at her bit shyly while Clint felt how his neck started to heat up suspiciously.  
”Uh, right...” Clint mumbled and then Lola stepped aside while holding the door open, saying:  
”Please, come in, I was just about to make coffee when I heard a knock on my door!”

Clint let Emily step into the trailer before following shortly, and he pulled the door shut just in time when the Spanish lady was introducing herself to Emily:  
”It is delightful to meet you, darling, my name is Dolores Bonaventura, though everyone knows me as Lola here, and I am the unofficial hairdresser and **the** Wonderful Bearded Lady of Mr. Carson's Carnival of Traveling Wonders.”  
Lola spoke and shook hands with Emily, who responded with a smile:  
”Hello, my name is Emily and I have to say I feel so happy to be able to meet you, Lola.”

Lola smiled warmly and then said:  
”Your happiness makes me feel happy too. And for now, shall we enjoy some coffee with appropriate amount of gossips before we get to work?”  
After getting two head nods and agreeing sounds from the teenagers, the Spanish lady showed them to her ´living room´, where there was a small coffee table and four chairs circling the table, before she joined the duo only a few minutes later, carrying with her a tray of cups, biscuits and a steaming pot of coffee.

 

* * * * *

”I can't believe I got to meet a real bearded lady!” Emily squeaked happily to Clint after they had bid goodbye to Lola, after spending roughly one and a half hours in her trailer, where they both had received a haircut (and some very helpful styling tips) from the lovely Spanish lady, and where they had drank coffee and shared gossips and then also shared few good laughing fits with her afterwards.

”I did say you would like her, didn't I?” Clint said while running a hand through his hair, which was now a bit shorter but whole a lot easier to manage than before. And it felt so soft! He had absolutely no idea of how Lola had gotten it that way, when in normal conditions his hair felt as soft as a dry haystack.

”How on earth did you know I have always wanted to meet and talk with one?” Emily asked, a happy glimmer in her eyes and a smile on her face when she looked at Clint, and Clint felt his heart beat faster at the sight of her. Lola had used her ´magic touch´ and had made large curls on Emily's hair, and every time she moved, her hair bounced and flowed along with the motion, making butterflies to appear in Clint's stomach. Lola had also used few flower-decorated pins on Emily's hair to ensure her bangs didn't fall to shield her radiating face.  
”It's a, um, a real mystery.” Clint managed to say and they both laughed a little at that.  
”Yeah, I guess so...” Emily said with a smile on her face as they were slowly walking back towards the main area, but then she turned to look back, asking:  
”Which of those trailers is yours?”

”Mine is located at the other side of the circus tent actually, it's the place where most of us, um, non-performing workers tend to camp.” Clint answered when he had turned to look back too and then he pointed to the general direction of the said tent.

”Oh, okay.” Emily nodded, looking at the direction where Clint was pointing.

”Yeah, but my mentor told me a couple of days ago that he's been talking with Mr. Carson and that he might be able to make some room for a new stunt show if they both deem that I am good enough first.” Clint spoke and shrugged a little. Emily looked at him bit questioningly before asking:  
”Really? So you aren't a performer just yet, but you want to become as one?”

”I, uh, yea, I practice whenever I have spare time, have done it a while actually, and I think I'm finally pretty good at it?” Clint said awkwardly and ducked his head a little.

”Right, so, can I try to pry about what it is that you have been practicing so hard?” Emily asked curiously and Clint swallowed nervously.

”I have been practicing target shooting... with a bow and arrows.” Clint said and scratched the back of his neck.

”Whoa, seriously? That's amazing! Can you show me, please?” Emily exclaimed excitedly, looking into Clint's eyes with pure honesty. Clint blinked surprised as he hadn't quite expected Emily to react like she just did, but he smiled nonetheless and nodded:   
”Yeah, uh, of course I can show you some tricks!”  
Emily squeaked happily when Clint reached to take her hand into his and then continued to lead her towards his trailer, both of them laughing and trying not to collide with people as they jogged through half of the carnival area on their way.

 

* * * * *

”So... this is your home?” Emily asked while looking around herself, standing pretty much at the center of Clint's trailer while the other teen tried to clear (quite desperately) the small space between the bedroom and the kitchen-area.  
”Looks like a freaking bomb has exploded in here, dammit!” Clint thought frantically and bend to pick up the traitorous blanket from that morning in order to toss it haphazardly onto his bed (pillow-nest) before he awkwardly responded:  
”Uh, sorry for this mess, I don't get visitors very often...”

Emily smiled and shrugged:  
”Hey, don't worry about it, I can honestly tell you that my room looks the same, if not worse, than your home does.”

Clint bit his lip and shoved a pile of clothes under the bed with his foot before he decided to simply give up with the cleaning.  
”I bet your room is twice as big as my trailer, and that you don't have any kind of cup or plate laying forgotten somewhere and which could have created a whole ecosystem and or conscious out of the stuff that it's growing in there.” Clint said and cringed at the look of one ceramic mug which was stored into the tiny kitchen sink and which he wouldn't touch without putting on some sort of a protective suit first.

”Well, I admit that there aren't any kitchenware in my room which could create life, but I strongly believe that my closet is a doorway to the edge of the known universe, or something like that, because I still haven't found one of my shirts that I stored there like, a year ago? Other possible explanation is that there is now a faun in Narnia who is wearing a black Aerosmith tee which it happened to found from the forest surrounding a dim streetlight.” Emily spoke while moving to lean her back against the bathroom door in order to let Clint pass her on his way to the other side of the trailer where he kept his bow and arrows stored. Clint snorted at Emily's story and then opened a top cabin from above the small table and proceeded to pull out a long black case and a quiver full of arrows from there.

”That's funny really and I think it would be a good idea to contact a scientist to have a look of my coffee mug and your incredible closet before it is too late and some new life form tries to take over the world or something like that.” Clint said and it was Emily's turn to snort.  
”Yeah, sounds like a good idea to me.” she said and watched as Clint lowered the case and the quiver onto the table before she moved to stand closer to the other teen.

”Yep, but anyway, this here is my bow, it's pretty old, but I like it nonetheless because it has this certain feeling in it, like it has a story it wants to tell. I dunno, it's hard to explain without sounding like a lunatic.” Clint spoke after opening the case and taking the wooden bow out into his right hand. Emily looked at the bow with fascination and she nodded:  
”It really does look like it has witnessed some great things.”

”I know right?” Clint said, pleased that he wasn't the only one who felt like that, and he took the quiver from the table and held it towards Emily while grinning at the same time:  
”You wanna see what I can do with these?”  
Emily returned the smile and took the quiver in between her hands carefully.  
”I can hardly wait.” she said, and ten minutes later, they were standing outside on a clear area not far from the trailer, where Clint had dragged few haystacks and stacked them into a pyramid-formation only a couple of days earlier.

”Okay, so, usually I try to hit the bullseye by using different angles, because it's way funnier that way and because it gets pretty boring to use the same posture every time.” Clint explained after he had attached a large paper sheet with a bullseye onto the pile of haystacks.  
”Right.” Emily nodded as Clint returned back to the shooting area where she was waiting for him. He had the quiver on his back and the bow in his left hand and Emily caught herself staring at the other teen, but she couldn't help but think how (handsome, gorgeous, charming) amazing he looked right now.

”This is the traditional way of shooting arrows.” Clint said as he took the proper posture, then he reached his right hand to take an arrow from the quiver, then he placed the other end against the bow string and he quickly drew the string back, aimed and released the arrow. The arrow hit the dead center of the bullseye with a thunk and Clint lowered the bow and turned to look at Emily while smiling widely. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at Clint, and then she wheezed out a quiet 'wow'.

”So, uh, yeah...” Clint said, feeling shy all the sudden because Emily was actually the third person who had seen his talents, Barney and Swordsman (his mentor) being the other two.

”That was... really... wow.” Emily said impressed and it really lightened up Clint's mood and he let out the breath he had been holding subconsciously.

”I, uh, this one is a bit trickier than the first one was, lemme show you.” Clint said, and again, took a posture, a completely different than the first one had been and then did the same as he did on the first time, and the second arrow landed neatly next to the first one.

”You gotta be kidding me!?” Emily gasped and Clint just grinned and shrugged like it was nothing, like everyone could do the same as he can.

Clint proceeded to show other tricks to Emily, and it didn't take long before the quiver was nearly empty, only three arrows were left when he asked:  
”Do you want to try too? The first posture might be the best to start with.”

Emily looked at the target, which now resembled more like a pincushion than anything else, and then she bit her lip and looked at Clint nervously.  
”I'm pretty sure that I am bad at it.” she said, but Clint shook his head, saying:  
”I don't believe so, not if I am training you.”

Emily still looked uncertain, so Clint took her hand in his free one and guided her to stand on his place instead.  
”Here, take the bow and hold it relaxed in your left hand.” he said and held the bow towards Emily, who sighed silently but took the device in her hand.

”Right, good, now, if you could turn so that your left side is facing the target, yea, like that-” Clint instructed and Emily took the posture before he continued:  
”-now, take this arrow and hold it, still relaxed, against the string.”  
Clint had given an arrow from the quiver and Emily did as she had been told.

”Okay, now, point the ground with the arrow and start to draw the string back while keeping your hand straight.” Clint said, and moved to the other side of Emily.

”Good, now lift your arms slowly upwards and stop when your bow arm is aligned with your shoulder.” Clint continued and stepped closer to Emily and then he gently adjusted her posture by taking a hold of her right hand with his own and placing his left arm on the side of her left one.

”Now, lock your eyes onto the target and when you feel ready, release the string.” Clint said and Emily blushed when she noticed how close they were to each others.

”Uh, like this?” she asked and let go of the string and the arrow and to her huge surprise, the arrow actually landed onto the target sheet.

”Yep, just like that. That was a very good shot, and yes, I am being completely serious!” Clint said as he released his hold of Emily and when he noticed her slightly doubting expression.

”Well, it's all thanks to my amazing teacher.” Emily said and smiled when Clint coughed awkwardly.

”Yeah, uh, thanks. Do you want to try again?” Clint managed to ask and Emily nodded:  
”It was fun, so yeah, why not?”

”Okay, here's an arrow, try to aim more to the right side this time.” Clint said, offering the arrow and Emily took it and repeated the movements from the first time. The arrow did land towards the center this time, but it wasn't a complete bullseye yet.

”Sometimes your arms can get tired fast, especially if you haven't done this before or if there is a break between the the last time you have done this.” Clint said as he gave the last arrow to Emily, who tried to stretch her arms before taking the posture again.

”Well, I definitely haven't done this before, so yea, you are right about the pain part.” she responded, and after seeing how her arms were shaking a little bit, Clint stepped to her backside like he did at the first try and placed his hands the same way again, this time offering Emily's own arms some additional support. Emily felt how her throat went dry all the sudden and she swallowed nervously before repeating the steps from earlier.

The arrow pierced the air and landed right next to one of Clint's own, leaving both teenagers stunned.  
”That was... perfect.” Clint said quietly while still holding Emily, but the other teen didn't even notice it as she was staring at the arrow's end.  
”Yea, you don't say...” Emily said and that was when both of them realized that Clint was still holding Emily and he quickly stepped backwards while trying to will the heat away from his neck, face and ears. Emily wasn't exactly pale either and she quickly said as she turned around to face Clint:  
”I am feeling a bit thirsty, how about you, Clint?”

Clint coughed and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling extremely awkward.  
”Ah, yes, I am very thirsty. I have couple of cans of cola in my trailer, if you want to uh, share a drink with me?” Clint said and looked at Emily from under his eyelashes and she nodded and responded:  
”Sounds good to me, thanks.”

They both then proceeded to walk back to the trailer, Clint deciding to unplug the arrows a bit later, maybe after when he didn't feel like the ground was going to open under his feet and swallow him wholly.  
”Um, here, it should be relatively cold.” Clint said when they were back in the trailer and he had searched through the mini-fridge, successfully finding two cans of cool soda and offering one can towards Emily.  
”Thank you.” she said and smiled a little while she took the can, and her smile made Clint feel a whole a lot better.  
”Yeah, you're welcome.” he said, trying to use some proper manners for once. They both opened the cans carefully and silently, and Clint remembered that he should probably offer his visitor (date) a place to sit.  
”Um, you can sit on where ever you want, and can, if you want to.” he said to Emily, who nodded slightly at his offering.  
”Right, thanks.” she said and then briefly looked around and moved to sit down on Clint's (questionably looking) bed (pillow-forth/nest). Clint himself found that he couldn't move his legs even if he would have wanted to, his mind was racing wildly, because, oh gosh, there was a girl sitting on his bed right now!

”Uh, Clint, you know you can sit too if you want to, right?” Emily reminded and Clint blinked and snapped out of his thoughts and without a further thinking, he moved and flopped down next to Emily. And that was when he noticed that, yes, he was actually sitting next to the girl he liked, and yes, she was now staring at him with unreadable expression over her face.  
”Um...” Clint mumbled and tried so desperately to think about something smart to say.  
”Youlookverypretty.” he blurted out and blushed instantly and Emily opened her mouth and then snapped it shut again while she turned her head to look towards the kitchen-area. She took a quick sip from her drink and blushed too when she said quietly:  
”Thanks, you look very handsome too.”

Clint sipped at his drink too and then collected the little amount of courage that he still had left, and placed his right hand on top of the blanket next to Emily's left hand, and inched his fingers slowly towards her fingers. His fingers touched hers tentatively and the contact made Emily to look at her hand before she lifted her head to look at Clint's face. Clint bit his lip anxiously and was ready to withdraw his hand back to him if Emily so happened to utter her disagreement, but she smiled softly and turned to look back towards the kitchen, her left hand moving so that she could hold onto Clint's hand properly. Clint smiled radiantly as he, too, turned his eyes to look into distance, all the while when the silence between them turned from awkward to a comfortable one.

”This feels quite nice.” Emily said quietly after a while, when she had finished with her drink, and Clint replied quietly:  
”Yea, I gotta agree with you.”  
They both smiled shyly when they turned to look each others simultaneously, and Clint reluctantly let go of Emily's hand when he lowered their empty soda cans onto the floor next to the bed, but he took a gentle hold of it again quickly. Clint looked into Emily's silvery eyes before his gaze roamed over every little detail of her face and hair, and his eyes locked onto her soft-looking lips for a few seconds before he looked into her eyes again. She was smiling a fond smile, a that kind of smile which reached her eyes, and Clint found himself swallowing nervously. He started to lean closer to Emily, careful to keep his movements slow in case she wanted him to stop, but Clint noticed that she had started to lean towards him too.

As their foreheads were almost touching, Clint whispered into the space between them:  
”Hey you.”  
Emily chuckled gently and replied with a whisper:  
”Hey.”

When their lips touched, both of their eyes fluttered shut and soon they both were melting into the kiss. And as they parted for the need of air, they stayed leaning against each others foreheads again.

”That was...” Emily sighed and smiled, her eyes sparkling, her cheeks flushed and lips swollen and Clint was fairly certain that he looked the same.  
”Perfect.” he ended her sentence and then they kissed again, this time with more parted lips, and Clint lifted his free hand to caress Emily's cheek, and all the sudden their kiss turned into a hungrier one. Pretty soon Clint's other hand came up to take a hold of the back of Emily's neck and she wound her arms around his neck, running her fingers through Clint's hair and making him shiver in response.

”Oh god, wow.” Clint exclaimed after they separated in need of air, again, and Emily nodded agreeing:  
”Yea, wow indeed.”  
And again, they were attacking each others lips and that was when Emily's balance slipped from where she had been sitting and she squeaked as her back hit the pillows behind her. She accidentally pulled Clint down with her, and for a second, they both just looked each others a bit stunned, before they continued to make out.

 

The next forty or so minutes was filled with kisses pressed against lips, ears, necks, cheeks, collarbones, shoulders, navels, stomachs, breasts... it was also filled with gentle touches against soft, tanned, sweaty skin, barely audible moans, and whispers of love, it was filled with brief soreness and unimaginable feeling after that, it was filled with protective arms wrapped around panting bodies, and purple sheets and red, blue and purple pillows surrounding the lovers, it was filled with tranquility and clothes tossed haphazardly in a rush.

 

Happiness was what the duo felt, and happiness was what they wished to contain and carry with themselves long after those forty or so minutes had passed, and become a memory from a simpler times.


	10. The calm before the storm

The remaining hours of the hot afternoon went by quicker than neither of the two teens would have wanted to, or had even anticipated in a first place. After they had clothed themselves (sharing a few quiet giggles and soft kisses along the way), it was Clint who suggested that he could give a tour around the rest of the carnival area, earning a bright smile and an eager nod from Emily. They had laughed hard together when they had stopped to play the game where one could test their strength, both of their results ending up pretty much the same spot; feet or so down from the ultimate goal. After that, Emily managed to beat Clint in a furious game of 'Whack-A-Mole', but despite his defeat, his laughter was the hardest one of the duo.

It was already half five when the teens stopped in front of the game stall where one could try to win a stuffed toy or a trinket of choice by hitting certain objects (in this case, there were three formations where three cans were stacked on top of each others) with a certain amounts of balls.

”Have you tried this before, Clint?” Emily asked when Clint fished a couple of coins from his trouser's pocket and placed them onto the counter as a payment for one round.

”Actually, I haven't. Never had time to try, but better late than never, right?” Clint said with a smile, and Emily saw a glint of mischievousness in his eyes, though it went totally unnoticed by the game stall worker. Emily had to bite her lip in order to suppress her laughter, because she was fairly sure that Clint could clear the whole stall if he happened to decide so.

”Right.” was all Emily said before the worker started to explain the rules and the instructions of the game to the both of them.

 

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the duo was standing in the dusty parking lot, both trying to catch their breath as they had speed walked there after an intense round of 'Toss-A-Ball'. It had been almost comically easy for Clint to aim and toss the three balls to their respective targets, landing each ball onto the dead center of the metallic cans. The worker had looked a little bewildered when Clint had finished, but had congratulated him nonetheless and let him pick his prize. And without a doubt, Clint had picked a necklace with a thin, silvery chain and a smoothly sanded amethyst pendant. He had given it to Emily (that's why he had chosen it in a first place) when they had stepped further away from the stall, and the other teen had smiled and blushed and made him do the exact same when she had quickly pecked him on the cheek as a thank you.

”I had a great time today, thank you, Clint.” Emily said after she had turned to face the other teen. Clint smiled and scratched the back of his neck, saying:  
”I uh, I had a fun time too.”

”So, um, are you going to, you know, come here tomorrow too?” Clint asked shyly after a beat, and Emily nibbled at her lower lip absentmindedly for a second.

”I would love to, but I am not sure about Marcel, that would he let me come here again.” Emily answered, a hint of worry laced in her voice.

”Oh, right.” Clint said quietly, uncertainty worming its way into his mind.

But before neither one of the duo had an opportunity to say anything relating the subject, there was a sound of a car slowing down on the short road leading to the circus area, and as expected, a white little sedan arrived through a small cloud of road dust. Emily and Clint watched side by side as the car slowed down some more before it pulled over into an empty parking space. The engine was turned off and the drivers door opened a second later, and that was when Emily's eyes went wide with disbelief.

”Oh god...” she muttered and facepalmed herself, and Clint had to bite his lower lip very quickly in order to not burst out into a laughing fit at the sight of Emily's not-dad.

”Hey there, kids!” Marcel called enthusiastically with a hand wave while he was closing the door.

”Lord have mercy on me, not again?” Emily sighed, finally letting her hand drop from her face, and Clint lowered his voice so that only Emily could hear him, seeing that the chef had started to walk towards them from the parking lot:  
”He really went and bought a new one?”

”Apparently, yes. But why god, _why_ he had to go and buy the ugliest of shirts ever made?” Emily said, whispering, as she stared at the abomination of a shirt the tall man was currently wearing; the shirt was made to look like a rainbow-batiqued t-shirt, and it would have been looking _almost_ acceptable, but someone had obviously thought that it would be a good idea to add some god damned _hibiscus flowers_ into the mix, making the garment look absolutely hideous to every single person whose name wasn't Marcel Francois René Favreau and who actually _had_ more sense in fashion than he had.

When Marcel had reached the two teenagers, he stopped to stand in front of them, a big smile making its way onto his face as he let his gaze travel between Emily and Clint.

”Hi sweetie, ready to go?” he asked from Emily and she sucked her lower lip in between her front teeth, the familiar feelings of shyness and awkwardness starting to worm their ways into her mind.

”Yeah, hi Marcel. I, um, I mean, me and Clint were just talking about how much fun we had here today, and well, uh, I was thinking that would it be okay if I could come here tomorrow too?” she asked hopefully. The beat of silence following Emily's question felt almost like a lifetime for the two teenagers while the chef hummed to himself quietly, his sky blue eyes looking between Emily and Clint once more.

”Well, I _had_ planned that we could have our traditional shopping marathon at sometime tomorrow, hence I only bought one shirt today, but I guess we could come here the day after tomorrow. Sounds good, eh?” Marcel said eventually and Emily let out the breath she hadn't even noticed she was holding.

”Thanks Marcel, you're the best!” Emily said with a huge smile that made dimples form on her cheeks as she gave an enthusiastic hug to the chef. Clint found himself smiling to the pair, and he felt more than a little relieved that his best friend/first love/girlfriend wasn't going to abandon him so abruptly, well, at least, not yet.

”I know, honey, I know.” Marcel said, smiling, as he patted her back gently. Emily extracted herself from the hug and turned to look at Clint with sparkling eyes, saying:  
”I really had fun today, thank you, Clint.”

Clint was practically beaming with unhidden happiness as he rubbed the back of his neck before saying:  
”Yeah, I had fun too, and, uh, let's meet at the same place as we did today, okay? At the hotdog stall?”

”Okay, it's a date then!” Emily said and grinned, the both of them blushing faintly and in sync afterwards. Marcel shook his head a little and let out a chuckle as he turned around and started to make his way towards the car, leaving the two teens behind purposefully.

”Ah, jeune amour!” Emily and Clint heard how the raven haired man said to himself, and Emily's blush deepened slightly.

”So, uh, I probably have to go, now...” the girl said while fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt, and the boy nodded slightly as his gaze was locked onto the descending figure walking ahead of him:  
”Right...”

Emily looked at Clint from under her eyelashes and bit her lip before quickly taking a step towards him and pressing a kiss onto his right cheek before dashing to catch the ridiculously dressed man who had already arrived to the car. Clint blinked a few times, his brains trying to comprehend about what just happened before a goofy smile appeared onto his face, and he pressed his right hand onto the place where the girl of his dreams had just planted a kiss.

”See you soon, Clint!” Emily called with a hand wave from where she was standing next to the car, the door to the passenger side open, and Clint waved back happily.

”Bye, Mr. Barton!” Marcel waved too before they both took their places inside the car, and soon, the dust from the short gravel road had enveloped their little white sedan and they weren't visible anymore.

”Bye...” Clint said quietly as he stared at the cloud of dust, and he stood unmoving for a while and just watched how the fine dust slowly flew away with the warm wind before he turned away and started to make his way back to his ´home´.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, stranger!
> 
> You can shoot me with your comments if you have time to spare. :)


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